The present invention generally relates to handheld presses used to hold and press garlic and other food articles.
The utility of any type of food preparation utensil or device depends, not only upon how well it operates, but also upon the extent to which the food article must first be readied or arranged before it is suitable for use by the utensil or device and the extent to which the utensil or device must be cleaned or adjusted after each such use. Therefore, the utility of a food preparation utensil or device is directly dependent upon the amount of work or activity required of its user before and after the actual operation, in addition to during the operation.
While conventional handheld garlic presses are able to effectively press garlic or other food articles, they require that the food article, like a clove of garlic, be first peeled and separated into smaller sections and correctly positioned, or oriented, in the press for the press to operate properly. In addition, after each use the press must be manually opened and cleaned of the remnants of the garlic, or other food article, just pressed before the press can be reused. This additional work is time consuming and, therefore reduces the effectiveness and utility of the utensil or device.
Consequently, a need exists for improvement in garlic presses which improvement would eliminate the drawbacks associated therewith.